Michael Porter Jr. is about to get paid. Or maybe not. It depends on which side of the negotiating table you’re listening to.
Coming off the best season of his career, the 28-year-old forward is entering the final year of his contract with the Brooklyn Nets. That deal pays him $40.8 million this season. He’s also eligible for a four-year extension worth up to $234 million. But nobody actually expects him to get the full max.
His agent, Mark Bartelstein, made the rounds on SiriusXM NBA Radio this week and made it clear: the talks are coming. But he also didn’t sound like a guy who had a deal ready to sign.
“Michael loves it in Brooklyn. Jordi (Fernandez) has been great for him … I think it’s a great fit,” Bartelstein said. “But that’s something Sean (Marks) and I have to sit down and talk about. The Nets have to ultimately chart out their course for the way they want to go forward, and we have to do the same thing for Michael. If we can make it work where there’s a long-term fit, that would be awesome. But that’s what we’re gonna be talking about in the days ahead.”
Porter averaged 24.2 points, 7.1 rebounds and 3.0 assists last season while shooting 46.3% from the field and 36.3% from three. That put him in an elite group: one of only six players to average at least 24 points and seven rebounds, alongside names like Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Victor Wembanyama and Joel Embiid.
“Michael had an awesome year last year. He was sensational,” Bartelstein said. “If the Nets were in a position where they were full speed ahead and they were trying to win games every night, Michael probably is an All-Star. He deserved it; he played that well.”
But here’s the thing. The Nets aren’t exactly all in on winning right now. Not in the traditional sense. They just traded Mikal Bridges to the Knicks and have been collecting picks like they’re going out of style. They’re clearly in some kind of retooling or rebuild mode, and that complicates paying a 28-year-old $40 million a year for four more years.
Nets general manager Sean Marks made that pretty clear at Summer League. He told reporters the team loves Porter but feels no urgency to get a deal done before the season starts. That’s usually a signal that the ball is in the player’s camp to make the case, or that the team wants to see how the season shakes out before committing big money.
Porter’s game has never been the issue. It’s the long-term fit. If Brooklyn is trying to clear cap space and stay flexible for a bigger swing down the road—say, a disgruntled star who wants out—then locking up Porter at a premium number might not make sense. If they think he’s part of the next competitive core, they’ll find a number that works.
Bartelstein knows all this. That’s why he said the two sides need to sit down and figure out their respective paths. It’s business. Porter’s camp will push for as much guaranteed money as possible. The Nets will push for a number that doesn’t handcuff them later. Somewhere in the middle, there might be a deal.
Or there might not be. Porter could play out this season, test the market next summer and see what a career year gets him from a team that knows exactly what it wants to be.
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